Beverage holder having swivel member

ABSTRACT

A beverage holder includes a beverage container holder or beverage receptacle and attachment member. The beverage holder can be formed of a material that insulates the enclosed beverage from external sources of radiant and conducted heat (i.e. heat from a hand/or the sun). The beverage holder can be worn by a person on a belt or in a waistband or pocket by attaching it with a clip, or it can be affixed to a surface by using the adhesive strip. The beverage holder limits spilling of the beverage by use of a swivel mechanism comprised of a swivel attachment on the holder which slides into a receptacle on the attachment member. This mechanism allows the beverage holder to rotate 360 degrees and remain upright while a person stands, sits or moves. The attachment member can also contain a hinge to allow the beverage receptacle to tilt.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/791,149 filed Mar. 15, 2013.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

The invention is directed to a beverage holder and, in particular, to abeverage holder having a swivel member and an attachment member forallowing the beverage holder to be secured in place, yet allow thebeverage container holder to swivel or tilt.

2. Description of Art

In social settings such as cocktail parties, happy hours, and otherevents where individuals are provided a dish of food and a beveragecontainer, e.g., bottle, glass, etc. containing a beverage, forconsumption, an issue arises as to how to hold both the food dish andthe beverage container while also being able to eat the food on the fooddish and/or greet other individuals at the social event through ahandshake. In some instances, the beverage container is set on a tablethereby freeing up one hand. However, sometimes table area is notavailable or desired and, in many of these such instances, the beveragecontainer is required to be held in the same hand as the food dish whilethe person uses the other hand to eat the food (or greet others) whichcan cause food and liquid to spill. Therefore, devising a location tohold the beverage container that frees one hand (the other remainsholding the food dish) allows the person to consume the food on the fooddish as well as allows the person to greet other individuals at thesocial event.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Broadly, the devices disclosed herein are directed beverage holders thatpermit the holder to be attached to another device and swivel in place.In one particular embodiment, the beverage holder includes a beveragecontainer holder or beverage receptacle formed out of a material thatinsulates the enclosed beverage from external sources of radiant andconducted heat (i.e. heat from a hand/or the sun). In certainembodiments, the beverage receptacle includes a swivel member tofacilitate keeping the beverage receptacle in an upright position inorder to limit spilling while it is attached to among other things, abelt, waistband, pocket, vehicle, boat, wall, bench, table and the likeby allowing up to 360 degrees of rotation. In other embodiments, theattachment member includes a hinge or other component that permits thebeverage receptacle to rotate or swing outwardly from the rest of theattachment member.

In certain embodiments, the attachment member comprises a belt clip thathas a receptacle to releasably accept and hold the swivel member of thebeverage receptacle so that the beverage holder can be clipped to amongother things, a person's belt, waistband or pocket. Suitable clipsinclude “alligator” type clips and spring loaded mechanisms.Alternatively, or in addition, the attachment member can comprises anadhesive strip to be secured to, among other things, a vehicle, boat,wall, bench or table. In certain embodiments, the receptacle forreleasably accepting and holding the beverage receptacle can include amechanism with a spring-loaded button to release and detach the beveragereceptacle from the attachment member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of one specific embodiment of abeverage holder disclosed herein shown in a connected arrangement.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional and perspective side view of thebeverage holder of FIG. 1 shown in a released arrangement.

FIG. 3 is a perspective side view of the beverage holder of FIGS. 1-2showing rotation of the releasable attachment member relative to thebeverage receptacle.

FIG. 4 is a perspective side view of the beverage holder of FIGS. 1-3showing the beverage receptacle without the releasable attachmentmember.

FIG. 5 is another perspective side view of the beverage holder of FIGS.1-4 showing the beverage receptacle without the releasable attachmentmember.

FIG. 6 is a perspective side view of the specific releasable attachmentmember of the embodiments of FIGS. 1-3 shown in a closed position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective side view of the releasable attachment member ofFIG. 6 shown in the opened position.

FIG. 8 is perspective side view of the releasable attachment member ofFIGS. 6-7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective side view of a releasable attachment memberhaving an adhesive along an outer surface of the releasable attachmentmember.

FIG. 10 is a perspective side view of another embodiment of a beverageholder disclosed herein.

FIG. 11 is a perspective side view of an additional embodiment of abeverage holder disclosed herein.

While the invention will be described in connection with the preferredembodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit theinvention to that embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to coverall alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as may be includedwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1-8, in one specific embodiment, beverage holder20 includes beverage receptacle 30 and releasable attachment member 50.Beverage receptacle 30 includes an opened upper end 31 for receiving abeverage, e.g., a can, a bottle, a glass, etc. (not shown) and a closedlower end 32. Beverage receptacle 30 may be made of among othermaterials, neoprene or other material that insulates the enclosedbeverage from external sources of radiant and conducted heat (i.e. heatfrom a hand/or the sun). Beverage receptacle 30 can also include astabilizing ring 35 attached to beverage receptacle 30 and, preferablyto swivel member 40 (discussed in greater detail below) to provide forgreater stability. Stabilizing ring 35 may be secured to outer wallsurface 36 of beverage receptacle 20, to inner wall surface 39 ofbeverage receptacle 30, or between outer wall surface 36 and inner wallsurface 39.

The portion of beverage receptacle 30 closer to opened end 31, i.e., theupper portion, can be angled so as to better secure the beverage. Forexample, the upper portion can be conically shaped as shown in FIGS. 1-5to better secure an angled bottled within beverage receptacle 30.Alternatively, inner wall surface 39 can be shaped to receive thebeverage such as by having inner wall surface 39 reciprocally shaped tothe contour or outer surface of the beverage container.

Swivel member 40 is affixed to outer wall surface 36 and, in theembodiment of FIGS. 1-8, to interior ring 35 of beverage receptacle 30.Swivel member 40 is operatively associated with releasable attachmentmember 50. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-9, and as best shown in FIG. 5,swivel member 40 includes post 41 having outer flange 42 and innerflange 43 such that releasable attachment member 50 engages post 41between outer and inner flanges 42, 43 as discussed in greater detailbelow.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-7, one embodiment of releasable attachmentmember 50 comprises engagement surface 51 for engaging with swivelmember 40 and attachment device 56 for securing releasable attachmentmember 50 to an object such as a person's belt, pocket, waistband andthe like. In the embodiment of FIGS. 6-7, and best shown in FIG. 8,engagement surface 51 includes swivel receptacle 52 and slot 53 forreceiving post 41 and flange 43 so that releasable attachment member 50can rotate along swivel member 40.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-9, releasable attachment member 50 includesrelease member 59 for operative association of releasable attachmentmember 50 with swivel member 40. Release member 59 maintains releasableattachment member 50 in a locked arrangement with swivel member 40 onuntil actuated, e.g., depressed. Upon depression of release member 59,releasable attachment member 50 is unlocked from its connection withswivel member 40 so that it is permitted to be removed from swivelmember 40. In certain embodiments, release member 59 comprises a springthat is biased toward a locked position.

Also in the embodiment of FIGS. 6-7, attachment device 56 of releasableattachment member 50 comprises a clip 57 such as an alligator clip whichcan be releasably attached to a person's belt, pocket, waistband, andthe like, or to any other object. In this particular embodiment, clip 57includes hinge member 58 having a closed position (shown in FIGS. 1 and6) and an opened position (shown in FIGS. 2 and 7). Hinge member 58facilitates clip 57 to pivot. Thus, hinge member 58, when releasableattachment member 50 is connected to swivel member 40, allows beveragereceptacle 30 to swing out from attachment device 56 thus allowingbeverage receptacle 30 to remain fixed or tilt and provide anotherdirection of movement to help keep the beverage receptacle 30 upright.

Referring now to FIG. 9, in another embodiment of attachment device 56comprises adhesive strip 60 for securing releasable attachment member 50to a surface of among other things, an automobile dashboard, ATV, boat,table or bench. Although adhesive strip 60 is shown as part of aseparate embodiment of attachment device 56, it is to be understood thatadhesive strip 60 can be included on a surface of clip 57 or on thesurface of any other attachment device.

Releasable attachment member 50 and swivel member 40 provide for 360degree rotation of beverage receptacle 30 in order to maintain thebeverage or container (not shown) in an upright position in order tolimit spilling while the user stands, sits, walks or otherwise moves orwhile it is affixed to a surface by an adhesive strip 60 disposed on anouter surface of releasable attachment member 50.

Referring now to FIGS. 10-11, in other embodiments, the beverage holderis modified to receive a wine glass (not shown). In one such specificembodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, an inner resilient, flexible, ring orflange 138 is included along inner wall surface 139 of the beveragereceptacle 130 of beverage holder 120 to facilitate securing the bottomof the beverage, such as a wine glass, within beverage receptacle 130.In operation, the wine glass is inserted into beverage receptacle 130until it rests on top of ring or flange 138. Addition force causesflange 138 to flex to permit the bottom of the wine glass to pass beyondflange 138 and to come to rest on closed end 132 of beverage receptacle130. Flange 138 then returns to its initial position and, in so doing,preferably remains in contact with the top portion of the bottom of thewine glass. As a result, the wine glass is captured within beveragereceptacle 130.

In addition to including flange 138, inner wall surface 139 near openedend 131 of beverage receptacle 130 includes a shape that facilitatesreceiving and securing the wine glass within beverage receptacle 130. Asshown in FIG. 10, inner wall surface 139 is conically-shaped. It is tobe understood, however, that inner wall surface 139 can have any shapethat facilitates capturing the wine glass within beverage receptacle andcan be, but is not required to be, reciprocally-shaped, or closelyreciprocally-shaped, to the actual shape of a wine glass to bettersecure the wine glass within beverage receptacle 130.

In another specific embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11, beveragereceptacle 230 of beverage holder 220 is similar to beverage receptacle130 of the embodiment of FIG. 10 with the exception that flange 138 isremoved and outwardly directed shoulder 238 is disposed on inner wallsurface 239 near closed end 232 of beverage receptacle 230. Outwardlydirected shoulder 238 provides an increase in the inner diameter ofbeverage receptacle 230 to provide space for the bottom of the wineglass to be inserted thereby securing the wine glass within beveragereceptacle 230.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exactdetails of construction, operation, exact materials, or embodimentsshown and described, as modifications and equivalents will be apparentto one skilled in the art. For example, the material of the beveragereceptacle may be made of flexible or rigid material and material toalso provide for insulating the enclosed beverage from external sourcesof radiant and conducted heat (i.e. heat from a hand/or the sun).Moreover, the beverage receptacle's size and shape may be modified tohold various glasses, cups, bottles, cans or any other beveragecontainer. In addition, the beverage receptacle may be made of materialand be of the size and shape that will allow it to itself hold liquid inaddition to holding a beverage. Moreover, the spring-loaded, “alligator”mechanism portion of the belt clip may be modified to allow forattachment to things other than belts, waistbands or pockets. Further,the beverage holders are not required to include each and everycomponent described herein or shown in the Figures. Accordingly, theinvention is therefore to be limited only by the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage holder comprising: a beverage receptacle having an opened end, a closed end, an inner wall surface, an outer wall surface, and a swivel member disposed on the outer wall surface; and a releasable attachment member operatively associated with the swivel member, the releasable attachment member having an engagement surface for releasably engaging with the swivel member and an attachment device for fixing the releasable to an object.
 2. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the attachment device further comprises an adhesive strip.
 3. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the releasable attachment member further comprises a clip.
 4. The beverage holder of claim 3, wherein the releasable attachment member further comprises a hinge member.
 5. The beverage holder of claim 4, wherein the hinge member is operatively associated with a release member.
 6. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the beverage receptacle further comprises a stabilizing ring.
 7. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the beverage receptacle further comprises a flange disposed along the inner wall surface in proximity to the closed end.
 8. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the beverage receptacle further comprises an outwardly directed shoulder disposed along the inner wall surface in proximity to the closed end. 